Can đảm theo Chúa

A Courageous Life

"Have courage," we often say to one another.
Courage is a spiritual virtue.
The word courage comes from the Latin word cor, which means "heart.
A courageous act is an act coming from the heart.
A courageous word is a word arising from the heart.
The heart, however, is not just the place where our emotions are located.
The heart is the centre of our being, the centre of all thoughts, feelings, passions, and decisions.

Spiritual Courage

Courage is connected with taking risks. Jumping the Grand Canyon on a motorbike, coming over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or crossing the ocean in a rowboat are called courageous acts because people risk their lives by doing these things. But none of these daredevil acts comes from the centre of our being. They all come from the desire to test our physical limits and to become famous and popular.

Spiritual courage is something completely different.
It is following the deepest desires of our hearts - comes from the centre of our being - at the risk of losing fame and popularity.
It asks of us the willingness to lose our temporal lives in order to gain eternal life. (Nouwen M)

Một luật sĩ đến thưa Người rằng: "Lạy Thầy, bất cứ Thầy đi đâu, con cũng xin theo Thầy". Chúa Giêsu trả lời: "Con chồn có hang, chim trời có tổ, Con Người không có chỗ gối đầu". Một môn đệ khác thưa Người rằng: "Thưa Thầy, xin cho phép con về chôn cất cha con trước đã". Chúa Giêsu trả lời: "Con hãy theo Ta, và hãy để kẻ chết chôn kẻ chết". (Mt 8,19-22)

Downward Mobility

The society in which we live suggests in countless ways that the way to go is up. Making it to the top, entering the limelight, breaking the record - that's what draws attention, gets us on the front page of the newspaper, and offers us the rewards of money and fame.

The way of Jesus is radically different. It is the way not of upward mobility but of downward mobility. It is going to the bottom, staying behind the sets, and choosing the last place! Why is the way of Jesus worth choosing? Because it is the way to the Kingdom, the way Jesus took, and the way that brings everlasting life. (Nouwen M)